who we are

Joanna Black

Founder


Experience and Expertise

•  Public relations and marketing professional: media relations, distribution consulting and support, new business development, consumer product development, employee and staff management, and event production expertise
•  Seasoned business owner: marketing and PR agency (New York), eco-lifestyle retail store and website (New York), boutique cosmetic stores (Toronto and New York)
•  Industry expertise: environment, retail, technology, beauty, lifestyle, fashion, and luxury markets
•  Deep understanding of consumer trends across multiple industries

Select Clients from my Former Lives

•  New York Fashion Week
•  Pure Food and Wine (raw food restaurant, New York)
•  Utowa (cosmetic/lifestyle, Tokyo/New York)
•  iSkin (computer accessories, Toronto)
•  Hope Blends (organic skincare, New York)
•  Allison Rafaelle (cosmetics, New York)
•  Hakansson (natural skin care, Stockholm/New York)
•  Lucent Technologies
•  Nortel Networks
•  Toshiba
•  D-Link
•  ViewSonic
•  3Com Corporation

Education

•  University of Waterloo, Environment and Resource Studies

Environmental and Social Responsibility

Born in Northern Ireland, Joanna developed an early appreciation for living close to the land and a characteristically European awareness of our finite natural resources. Her involvement in social causes began as a teen, spending weekends volunteering with disabled children at the Centre for Community Living near Toronto, Canada. That social activism continued into her college years, where her environmental ambitions took root. After being accepted into the highly regarded Environment and Resource Studies program at the University of Waterloo in Canada, she led efforts to make practical environmental changes on campus and in the community. These efforts included energy and resource conservation, wildlife conservation, implementing recycling programs, and conducting waste audits.

More recently, Joanna co-founded Hip E Living, an eco-retailer based in Woodstock, New York. Hip E Living offers environmentally sustainable products for eco-conscious customers through its store and its website, hipEliving.com.

Joanna also promoted New York Public Interest Research Group’s (NYPIRG) 2007 Prom Dress Drive among New York City’s media and fashion community, soliciting and collecting donations for underprivileged Bronx high school students. Joanna and partner Matt Garrison have become host parents for Fresh Air Fund kids at their home in upstate New York. Joanna remains involved in local environmental projects in the community that aim to educate and work toward a sustainable future.